Entertainment

Project Unbreakable Gives Sexual Abuse Victims a Voice in Pictures

Pictures can capture a moment, express a feeling or, with Project Unbreakable, help sexual abuse victims take control over the violence done to them.

Project Unbreakable was created in October of 2011 by Grace Brown, a 19-year-old studying at New York's School of Visual Arts, as a way to address sexual abuse by empowering its victims.

The Tumblr features images of abused men and women holding up signs with a quote from their attacker. The images are presented simply, often without so much as a blurb or caption. Brown has photographed dozens of the images herself but she's also received email submissions from people as far away as Abu Dhabi. The site has a whiff of PostSecret but with a much different goal in mind.

Project Unbreakable doesn't pretend to be a self-help blog, and Brown is quick to point possible victims to professional services, such as RAINN, on the site.

The site is, however, more than just a photo project. The images — whether taken by Brown or submitted from afar — are calm and strong, allowing the victims space to own their experience. Yvonne Moss, a rape survivor and activist, described the project as "a way for victims to take the power back of the words that were once used against them."

It's powerful material that shows a glimpse into the grotesque and sometimes awful banality of sexual abuse. Victims of extreme violence and incest are just as frequent as victims raped by friends or even significant others. If anything, Project Unbreakable shows that sexual abuse occurs in many ways, shapes and forms.

Brown has expanded the project with profile pages on Facebook and Twitter and will host a photography day in Washington on March 3 to encourage more women (and men) to share their stories.

Project Unbreakable walks a fine line but does it have the right idea? Can art — and the Internet — really help heal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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